UPDATE: Officials react to General Dynamics cutting 730 jobs

Published: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 07:47 PM.

LYNN HAVEN — Local officials responded Wednesday to reports that one of Bay County’s largest employers is shedding about half of its workforce.

Lynn Haven Mayor Walter Kelley said he was surprised when he learned while watching the evening news that General Dynamics would lay off more than 700 people.

“I was disappointed that they sprung the news on us,” Kelley said Wednesday evening. “I felt once they came here they would be here a long time.”

Mark Meudt, a General Dynamics representative, wouldn’t not confirm the layoffs when reached by phone Wednesday evening. He said he would answer questions via email Thursday.

Leaders gushed last summer when General Dynamics Information Technology announced it would open a call center in the former Sallie Mae building and hire about 1,400 people in mostly full-time positions.

The 1,400 people were assisting callers with inquiries regarding government healthcare programs.

Rep. Steve Southerland lashed out at the Affordable Care Act in response to reports of the layoffs.

LYNN HAVEN — Local officials responded Wednesday to reports that one of Bay County’s largest employers is shedding about half of its workforce.

Lynn Haven Mayor Walter Kelley said he was surprised when he learned while watching the evening news that General Dynamics would lay off more than 700 people.

“I was disappointed that they sprung the news on us,” Kelley said Wednesday evening. “I felt once they came here they would be here a long time.”

Mark Meudt, a General Dynamics representative, wouldn’t not confirm the layoffs when reached by phone Wednesday evening. He said he would answer questions via email Thursday.

Leaders gushed last summer when General Dynamics Information Technology announced it would open a call center in the former Sallie Mae building and hire about 1,400 people in mostly full-time positions.

The 1,400 people were assisting callers with inquiries regarding government healthcare programs.

Rep. Steve Southerland lashed out at the Affordable Care Act in response to reports of the layoffs.

“The loss of 730 Bay County jobs is a stark reminder of America’s transformation into a part-time, short-term society,” Southerland said in a statement released Wednesday evening. “I am saddened that these hardworking men and women are paying the price for the Obama administration’s unyielding pursuit of a job-crushing, Washington-first agenda that has made private sector job growth more difficult by the day. With nearly 80 percent of new jobs representing part-time opportunities, we must do better to restore the certainty that these 730 Northwest Floridians deserved from the start.”

Kim Bodine, executive director of CareerSource Gulf Coast, said the company held a job fair within the past two months and was looking to fill about 200 positions.

“It leads me to believe that the decision was made at a higher level, and they didn’t know locally,” Bodine said.

CareerSource Gulf Coast helped with the company’s initial recruitment efforts, and she said the company didn’t say at the time the jobs were temporary. That’s not unusual, Bodine said, because announcing that the jobs are temporary would make recruitment more challenging.

Bodine said CareerSource Gulf Coast will contact the company and offer assistance to displaced workers.

“The loss of 730 Bay County jobs is a stark reminder of America’s transformation into a part-time, short-term society,” he said in a release. “I am saddened that these hardworking men and women are paying the price for the Obama administration’s unyielding pursuit of a job-crushing, Washington-first agenda that has made private sector job growth more difficult by the day. With nearly 80 percent of new jobs representing part-time opportunities, we must do better to restore the certainty that these 730 Northwest Floridians deserved from the start.”